The Barkerville Heritage Trust is seeking to renew interest in a road connecting Wells and Barkerville to Highway 16 East.
Trust vice-chairperson John Massier made a presentation to the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George board of directors on Thursday requesting a letter of support for the development of the Purden Connector Road. In 2007 the trust called for the road to be developed to a highway standard, he said, now the group is hoping to see it developed as an unpaved forestry road.
"As it stands, Wells/Barkerville is at the end of a 88 kilometre cul-de-sac, so to say," Massier said. "This idea has been around for a long time. We believe it would present some new tourism opportunities. I think Quesnel and Prince George have as much to gain as Barkerville."
The proposed route would connect Bowron Forest Road, just east of Purden Lake Provincial Park, to Bowron Lake Park Road near Barkerville. Two other routes - following the Goat River Road or Matthew River Road - were considered, but found to be impractical because of the sensitive terrain and steep slopes.
In 2007, a study commissioned by the Barkerville Heritage Trust estimated the cost of building the road to highway standards between $6.5 million and $15 million. An estimate of the cost to build the road to a forestry mainline standard was under $1
million, Massier said.
A total of 64 kilometres of the route is already maintained to forest service road standards, Massier said. A former forestry road connects the two roads, he added, but has not been maintained.
"It was all the way to Bowron Park, but a 15.2 kilometre stretch was let go back to nature," he said.
"Of that, 13 kilometres between the two forest roads could be driven with a car or truck in two-wheel drive."
Several bridges were built along the route when forestry was active in the area, he said.
"This is the kind of infrastructure that cost the public millions of dollars to put in place. It would be a shame to let it go," he said. "There is beautiful spots along that road that would make good pull outs or perhaps ministry recreation sites."
The road would provide a circle route for more adventurous tourists who are willing to travel gravel roads, Massier said.
Funding for the road would likely have to come from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations forestry road budget, he added.
District of Wells councillor Aleta Wallace said the road would also provide a vital evacuation route if a forest fire were to block Highway 26. Highway 26 has been closed four times this year by washouts and downed power lines.
Matthew River Road is the only other route out, she said, and it was closed for most of the summer because sections collapsed.
"Matthew River Road is a very narrow single lane. And that one lane has steep drop offs of 200 to 400 feet," Wallace said. "It isn't something we could use safely as an evacuation route."
The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George board agreed to write a letter of support for the initiative.
"The tourism return is obvious to me," director and Prince George city councillor Dave Wilbur said. "I think it's only a win-win when it goes ahead."
